The theme of Mayor Steve Benjamin's state of the city address was a promise he made to Columbia.
"If you're willing to work hard, contribute to your community and respect others you deserve a quality education, a good job and a living wage."
Quality education was something Benjamin focused on, as he championed a philosophy that "you can't be a great city without great schools." Benjamin proceeded to call for pay raises for public school teachers, tout school lunch programs and call for educational incentives.
Nothing against the city schools — they are certainly a foundation of the city's success or failure. But our question for the mayor is this: what about USC? And for that matter, what about any of the other higher education institutions in the city?
USC was only mentioned twice in the speech, and no other colleges in Columbia were mentioned.
Benjamin did cite the partnership between the city, IBM, Fluor and the university in starting the Center for Applied Research. He also cited the difficulty poor students might face in paying tuition at the university. However, he failed to tie in his larger vision for the city with USC and higher education in general.
Last year's state of the city address focused on all the positives in the city, as the mayor proclaimed that the city "shined." Those successes are part of the promise that Columbia offers, including USC. The school is a large part of the economy, culture and fabric of Columbia. The relationship works both ways, as the city affects the students, staff and faculty that make up our institution. Along with successes, we share our struggles with the city and those should be addressed as well.
Benjamin asked us to "imagine if we made education a true priority in this city." Education doesn't just mean the city's public schools — it means thousands of students calling Columbia home while they strive for the same promise that Benjamin says the city offers.
We agree with the promise, we just ask — how does USC fit in?